This looks pretty good but I always imagined that the fusion cannon would be a lot more powerful, especially with the addition of ore 13. Prime's armour should be able to handle some of the blasts but surely he should be thrown back half a mile or so.

Ore 13 (like energon) is a power source mainly for them (i.e. mechanical systems) I think. After all, they've got charges that can blow up planets, but attaching it to an arm would still have a lot of kickback unless purely a laser-type device.

That is one intense battle, and now that I'm thinking about it, it has been awhile since we've seen these two duking it out. The panels with Prime transforming and aiming look fantastic! But now the question remains, who is the mystery Decepticon on the first page? Far too damaged to be Shockwave....Soundwave could be a possibility, with the Spotlight arriving shortly before this issue.

Hell yeah...how long has it been since these two titans fought it out...never mind shooting at eachother, its gonna be no holds barred, despite the obvious repsect they have for eachother (just look at Stormbringer) they know what eachother is capable of just remains to be seen who'll come out on top...I'm betting Prime will have to get his tail rescued and then he'll be due some payback in the next story after Escalation. Just my thoughts though, I could be wrong!

Originally posted by Nevermore Keep in mind that the Machination has been around for quite some time.

That's one of the reasons I'd say Scorponok If the present day page of Ultra Magnus was "29 Stella Cycles" after the bulk of the issue, and we assume a cycle is about a year (might be shorter, or even much longer if it's a fancy way of saying a Cybertron year) then that about thirty years for him to get his claws into the US Government as he did on Nebulos. Second best bet would be Soundwave as we know he was around at least briefly in the 80's.

Remember the time, way back in 1984, when Megatron shot Optimus Prime's arm in 'The Last Stand', issue 4, Marvel Comics? The arm vaporised! Why wasn't part of Optimus vaporised when he got hit in the chest in IDW Escalation, issue 5? I thought that Megatron was attacking strongly there!

This is all part of the ridiculous comics and cartoons method of giving characters lethal weapons and then letting other characters survive with minimal injuries after direct hits.

The point is that the weapon is a fusion cannon. It uses the same nuclear process as the fusion bomb. The plasma generated is briefly hotter than the surface of the sun. At close enough range (a few miles), this is enough to destroy all known metals. This was demonstrated in atomic tests worldwide since the 1940s. Solid steel objects near test explosions completely disappeared. I repeat, how could Optimus survive a direct hit?

My own explanation is that Transformers have developed radical methods to strengthen metals. Since normal nuclear and chemical processes are insufficient to resist a fusion attack, Transformers would have to use very advanced methods, i.e. use their hyperspace technology to draw extra matter and energy from hyperspace. This extra matter and energy could somehow be used to massively reinforce conventional metals, thus making them incredibly resistant to damage, at least for a short time. If they kept the extra matter and energy too long, it would be too much for them and would do them damage. Imagine if part of your body suddenly became a thousand times heavier or supercharged with power!

Originally posted by snavej The point is that the weapon is a fusion cannon. It uses the same nuclear process as the fusion bomb. The plasma generated is briefly hotter than the surface of the sun.

That's at the centre of the reaction, though -- we can probably very safely assume that the weapon isn't generating a solid beam of that magnitude, because it'd destroy the weapon and the individual next to it.

I refer you to the theory I expounded in my previous post about the use of hyperspatial matter and energy to make regular objects and people super-resistant to damage.

Also, human scientists know that it is possible to contain fusion plasma in a powerful magnetic field - it has been done in a few advanced laboratories. They are trying to build a fusion reactor for peaceful power-generating purposes but it is proving to be very difficult - for human technology!

Originally posted by snavej human scientists know that it is possible to contain fusion plasma in a powerful magnetic field

But for a beam focused from a cannon that field would need to be extended and shaped along the path of the blast -- the reactions aren't directional and would tend towards the widest arc possible.

I'd agree that conventional metals are almost certainly augmented either by extreme density or whatever dodgy Trek physics are popular in sci-fi this week for force fields, but a weapon being a shaped fusion reaction (rather than just drawing power from that reaction for explosive force -- there has to be particulate matter in there somewhere, it isn't travelling at light speed and can be dodged) is extremely unlikely and counter-intuitive.

Transformers are very high-tech beings - they must be able to manipulate energy fields at great distances. Hence, they can create a 'tunnel' of containing magnetism or whatever for a blast of energy to travel through, all the way to the target or even beyond. We know that they make such things as extremely strong defensive force fields and the more delicate holographic humans.

Fusion blasts are not at light speed but are still at a significant fraction of light speed. Hardly anyone could dodge one because the power and acceleration needed would destroy the would-be dodger! Even if someone did just about dodge the blast, he/she/it would probably be damaged by the side-effects, e.g. the radiation and the electromagnetic pulse. To successfully dodge the fusion blast, it would be best to warp out using teleport technology, assuming one's reaction time was quick enough.

If I was Megatron, I would want a devastating fusion cannon rather than an ordinary laser or missile. I wouldn't use it all the time but I would like something that could blow big holes in virtually anything and have terrible side-effects on the surroundings just to emphasise my power. Great leaders need to carry a very big stick, so to speak, or else they get overthrown.

Originally posted by snavej Great leaders need to carry a very big stick, so to speak, or else they get overthrown.

Or they put the emphasis of their efforts on defensive tech, and where there's scarcity of materials or components, the leaders and medical forces get them first. Being almost unkillable is more useful than being able to blow more stuff up.

I'd like some in-story explanation for why Prime and Megatron can shrug off blasts that would shred other TFs. If Furman's out there: pretty please?

Reckon it's very likely that Megatron weighs more than any of his underlings, when mass isn't shifted into containment somewhere.

Hardly anyone could dodge one

Characters seem to do so on a frequent basis. We have plenty of evidence that what might at first glance appear to be laser-type beam weapons aren't strictly.

Even if someone did just about dodge the blast, he/she/it would probably be damaged by the side-effects, e.g. the radiation and the electromagnetic pulse.

Again, you're building an argument that Megatron's cannon doesn't produce a directed fusion reaction. It may derive power somewhere internally through one, that's then used, but the blast itself isn't.